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Edinburgh Fringe 2017

Terry Alderton : All Crazy Now

Terry Alderton

Genre: Comedic, Comedy, Stand-Up

Venue: Pleasance

Festival:


Low Down

I rarely watch a show twice but I could happily watch this show on a loop.

Review

If there were a poster boy for manic absurdist comedy, Terry Alderton would be a strong contender. He returns to the Fringe with a loopy yet unmissable rollercoaster of a show. Finding an act this fresh is akin to a newly discovered mix tape from some past girl/boyfriend who had a keen sense of the absurd.

Picture Keith Flint from the Prodigy with an army of bees in his bonnet, add a hefty dash of schizophrenia and you get the idea. Alderton prowls the stage with consummate ease, and plucks on his audience like feathers from a chicken. Speaking of which, one of his many gloriously daft musical numbers has every hand in the room waving to the flight of fancy that is pole-vaulting said chicken.

The beauty of this show lies in the comic’s ability to be at turns voraciously menacing, charming, then vulnerable – his legion Alderton-egos before us in Technicolor. He confides to the audience that he has scant idea where the show is going, but succeeds in creating effortless madness which somehow feels complete.

It would be remiss to mention one of the highlights of the show who is (as far as I can tell) not one of Terry’s invisible friends. Co-collaborator Johnny Spurling joins him on the stage numerous times, a double-over and laugh double-act if ever I saw one. His vocal skills, comic timing and physical comedy show a true talent, even if he does like toffee a bit too much…and beware – I’ve had one of their musical numbers on a loop in my head since I heard it.

Rarely have I felt immersed in a show to this extent, and my funny bone is still jangling. It’s not for you if you like scripted mundane laugh-a-minute comedy. But if you prefer to walk on the wild side of the laughter road – get your skates on and climb aboard the Alderton train.

Loopy times guaranteed or your chicken back.

Published